


Grey Hair

by holdonabitlonger



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:49:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4325556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdonabitlonger/pseuds/holdonabitlonger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>based on the prompt from tumblr: "Imagine that if, for example,your soulamte has blue eyes, so you can see every colour but blue until the moment you look into your soulmates eyes and you get to experience that colour for the very first time"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grey Hair

**Author's Note:**

> kinda for Zoe but kinda not

Harry couldn’t see brown. It was no secret considering that he’s complained about it all throughout high school and college. It saddened him that his favourite childhood dish, mashed potatoes with gravy, looked so unappetizing in the form of a grey mush that he eventually stopped eating it all together. It saddened him that he couldn’t see how beautiful his best friend’s eyes were, considering that everyone complimented them. He hated trees, he hated how they were supposed to be so beautiful and so natural yet they looked _so out of place_ with their grey trunks and green leaves. He longed to experience that beauty everyone talked about when they saw Liam’s eyes or when they looked at a tree. He longed to be able to eat gravy again without feeling the need to throw up. He didn’t even want his soul mate anymore, he just wanted to experience everything everyone else saw.

“Harry? Are you listening to me?” He heard his girlfriend, Lucy, snap at him from the corner of the room. He snapped his eyes in her direction and when he didn’t reply, she grunted in annoyance.

“Did you hear anything I said?” She spat angrily as she stormed over to him, throwing herself on the couch next to him. He shrugged nonchalantly as he stood up quickly, walking over to the window.

“What’s the sky like today?” He heard her quietly mumble as he looked up.

“Beautiful.” He answered, clearing his throat. Lucy couldn’t see blue, so everyday she asked him what the sky looks like with the hope of being able to see it through him. Their first encounter was a drunken hookup that ended up with him confessing that he’s been sleeping with brown-eyed girls in hope of finding his soul mate. The rest is history, but Harry looks into her brown eyes everyday, with the hopes that he’ll be able to see that colour one day. That was five years ago, and now, whenever they go out, they’re on a mission to find their soul mates, with the other playing wingman. And every time he pisses her off, she bakes a chocolate cake, and looks him dead in the eyes as she eats it, getting pleasure from watching him try not to throw up.

“I wish I could see it.” Her voice startles him, but he doesn’t want to show it, so he wraps his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him.

“I wish I could know whether or not I’m growing grey hair.” He biggest fear in life is that he starts to grow grey hair but wouldn’t know about it because he can’t tell the difference between the grey hair and his brown hair. Louis and Liam would get a kick out of it.

“Wait, oh my god… Is that a grey hair?” Lucy cried, grabbing at his hair and his heart dropped. He ran to a mirror, but cursed when all he saw was grey on his head.

“Where?” He cried before she cracked up.

“It’s not funny.” He spat as he pushed past her, stomping his way to his room.

Half an hour later he was sitting across from Louis and Liam on his bed.

“You guys would tell me if I was growing grey hair, right?” He sniffled, suddenly becoming self conscious. Liam furrowed his brows while Louis sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Well, now that you mention it…” Louis began but Liam slapped his arm.

“Yes Haz, of course we’d tell you.” Harry cringed at the nickname.

“Don’t call me Haz.” He snapped at the grey-eyed boy. He usually avoided looking into Liam’s eyes, as he knew they were so kind and full of life, but when _he_ looked into them, they were grey and lifeless and cold and so _unlike Liam_ that it physically hurt.

“Whatever, whine about not seeing light brown all you want, but I can’t fucking see dark brown. I basically can’t see black, I might as well be fucking night blind. Do you know how hard it is to walk in the dark when you’re half blind? Really hard Harry, really fucking hard, so if you’re done complaining, please think about investing in a guide dog or a cane for me, thanks.” Harry and Liam burst into laughter at Louis’ butt hurt expression. His outburst reminded him of all the times they had to leave the lights on during their sleepovers in high school because Louis could see very little in the dark and often got up during the middle of the night to piss or get a glass of water. One time, just to fuck with him, he left the house and cut the power in the dead of night, and Harry nearly pissed himself when Louis threatened to sacrifice his balls to the Aztec gods.

“Shut up Louis, you already found Liam, you can see dark brown.” Harry mumbled, annoyance pulling his brows together. “You could since when you were young.” Harry introduced the two boys when they were fifteen, and as soon as they saw each other, the world got a little bit more colourful for them, making Harry’s insides boil with jealousy. He didn’t speak to them for two whole weeks.

“Yeah okay, but that doesn’t erase all those times I almost died at night.” He snapped and Liam hugged his boyfriend while Harry rolled his eyes.

“Maybe you should have.” He mumbled down at his lap and Louis gasped.

“Do you want to fight me?” The short blue-eyed boy challenged and Harry made an effort to visibly look him up and down, as if seizing up his physique.

“I don’t know, do you feel like losing today?” He challenged back, and Liam had to hold Louis back from lunging at the curly haired boy.

“That’s enough, from the both of you.” Liam huffed in annoyance before sitting down on Louis’ torso, pinning his hands down with his knees. Harry looked away.

“Harry, how’s bae hunting going?” Liam questioned nonchalantly, as if he didn’t have a yelling Louis pinned underneath him.

“I might as well be looking for water in the desert.” Harry sighed; throwing himself down on the bed so his head was lying next to Louis’.

“Don’t be so upset, you’ll find the right _person_ soon.” Liam put extra emphasis on person, to remind Harry to not only look for girls, but to expand his horizons.

“I’m not sad, I’m _parched.”_ Harry admitted quietly. The thing is, he didn’t want to expand his horizons, because that meant he’d be even more disappointed when he didn’t find the right person, and that meant he would feel even more empty than he did then. He was exhausted and emotionally drained and he just really wanted to appreciate Liam’s eyes and see the beauty in trees and eat gravy and chocolate cake and be able to tell if he has grey hair. He just wanted to appreciate the world for what it was.

Louis must have noticed Harry’s sudden sadness, because he cleared his throat and poked his temple.

“Have you tried looking on E _bae_?”

**

Lucy came home crying one day and Harry immediately dropped everything he was doing to embrace her.

“What happened, Lucy?” Harry asked gently, kissing her forehead.

“I saw the colour of the sky today, Harry. I saw blue.” She sobbed, pulling away from him. “The reason I could never see the blue of the sky was because he trapped in in his eyes, Harry. The sky is in his eyes, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” His world froze. It was as if someone pressed the pause button on his life, and he couldn’t breathe. His throat was closing up and he _couldn’t breathe._ He couldn’t breathe as he pulled away from her and he couldn’t breathe as he turned on the shower. He couldn’t breathe as he showered himself with cold water, trying to wake himself up from this dream.

“Harry please, let’s talk about this.” Lucy said as she walked into the bathroom, looking at him through the glass wall of the shower. He looked up at her, but he didn’t see her. He looked right through her grey eyes. He couldn’t see what she felt, and he couldn’t know what he felt. No, he knew what he felt. He felt numb. He felt numb because she was leaving him. The only person that understood the way he felt was leaving him, because she didn’t understand anymore.

“You’re leaving.” He breathed out but the noise from the water drowned out his words.

So they stood like that, with the only sound coming from the shower, until Lucy left but Harry didn’t notice her absence until he shut off the water. That was the last time he ever saw Lucy, because she was gone when he went to sleep and all her stuff was gone by the end of the week. He didn’t know when she came to take her stuff, but he was glad she did it when he wasn’t around.

**

It’s been three months since Lucy moved out, and he still hasn’t gotten over it completely. She wasn’t his soul mate, but he still loved her. He loved her as much a man could love a woman without falling in love with her. He sat on his big red couch, staring out at the blue sky. He couldn’t help but think of the big brown-eyed girl every time he looked up at the sky and that was his problem, the sky was everywhere. He couldn’t escape it, and he couldn’t escape her. He wondered where she was, who she was with, what she was doing and if she was happy. Yeah, her leaving deeply wounded her but in the end, if him hurting meant her being happy, then he was okay with that. Not really, but that’s what he told himself.

He was doing the downward dog when his phone started blaring out some obnoxious song that Louis set when he was drunk and Harry was too lazy to change.

 “Yes?” He asked as he situated himself cross-legged on the yoga mat.

“Harry?” It was his boss from his part time job at a small café.

“Yes.”

“I know you don’t have a shift today, but Nancy bailed and we can’t afford to be one person short today, so could you cover for her?” It wasn’t a question, as Harry couldn’t really say no to him unless he wanted to get fired.

“I’ll be there in ten.” He sighed as he tossed his phone away and started packing his yoga equipment away.

**

Twenty minutes later he was at the café.

“I thought you said ten minutes?”

“I thought you said I wouldn’t have to work today.” Harry countered as he flashed his boss a charming smile, who grunted and walked back into his office.

“Harry! So good to see you here!” Niall, Harry’s coworker, cheered happily as Harry tied his apron around his waist.

“Hey Niall, how are you?” They hugged quickly before Niall returned to stacking pastries. Harry quickly grabbed a banana and started peeling it from the bottom up.

“I’m good now that you’re here, buddy! It’s been boring without ya!” Niall winked and Harry grinned, mouth full of chewed up banana, causing the blonde to gag.

“You’re so disgusting.” The Irishman cringed before he put the last blueberry muffin onto the display. Harry just shrugged in response, tossing the peels away and quickly made his way over to the register when he heard the bell chime, telling him he had a new costumer.

“Hello, I’m Harry, what can I-” He was about to finish his sentence when he looked into his costumer’s eyes. And for the first time in his twenty-seven years, he saw what brown looks like. It knocked his breath away as the girl looked at him with a confused and mildly concerned face. He placed his sweaty palm over his heart, gripping the counter with the other. His heart felt as if it was about to burst, causing him to double over. He looked to the side to see Niall walking towards him. He was saying something, but Harry couldn’t hear. The blood was too loud in his ears. His skin felt as if it was set on fire, but in the best way possible.

“Babe, is he okay?” He heard the girl say and his blood froze.

_Babe?_

“I dunno. Harry? Are you alright mate?” Niall touched his shoulder but Harry jerked away from his touch, feeling electrocuted.

“B-babe?” He managed to spit out. Niall and the girl exchanged looks before they smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah, this is my soul mate, Dani!” Niall said proudly and Harry felt the bile rise up in his throat.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” He said and then threw up on Niall’s shoes.

**

“So you met your soul mate.” Louis said slowly, assessing each word, weighing them on his tongue.

“But she already has a soul mate.” Liam finished, looking petrified for Harry. The curly haired boy nodded weakly, pulling the blanket tighter around him.

“That’s fucked up.” Harry shot Louis a look, one that was a cross between “shut the fuck up” and “I fucking know”.

“Is that even legal?” Liam wondered out loud, scratching his stubbly chin. Harry moved his eyes from Louis to Liam hesitantly. Ever since Liam came in, he avoided his eyes because he didn’t want to see such beauty when he was in such a terrible state. He wanted to be happy and radiant when he saw them, so he could truly appreciate the beauty. But nothing prepared him for the colour of his best friend’s eyes. They were so bright and so full of life and _so kind_ that Harry forgot his worries for a minute. He felt his throat close up because for the first time in his life, Harry could finally appreciate Liam for the beautiful person he really was and it left him breathless.

“Oi mate, if you don’t stop staring into my boyfriend’s eyes right this fucking moment, I _will_ fuck you up. I don’t care if you’re my best friend, I _will_ fight you, and you _will_ lose, don’t test me.” Louis warned, causing his two friends to look at him. Liam looked at him with love and adoration, and Harry look at him with scared and tired eyes.

“You really do have beautiful eyes, Liam. I’m sorry I didn’t know until now.” Liam studied the curly haired boy with saddened eyes, his heart swelling for the hurt boy.

“It’s quite alright, Harry.” He reached out and squeezed his knee. Harry gave him a weak smile in response.

“But hey, now you can become a tree hugger and pluck your own grey hairs, right?” Louis joked and even though it was a joke and wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, Harry realized that for once, he was like all the people who did find their soul mate, and he could finally appreciate the things he couldn’t appreciate before. But his heart couldn’t help but ache. He was lonely, and he wished he had someone to appreciate that beauty with.

**

“What the fuck happened yesterday?” Niall asked as soon as Harry stepped into the shop. Harry just shrugged nonchalantly and bent over the fresh pastries, grabbing a chocolate muffin. He’s never tasted chocolate before, so he was excited to know what it tasted like.

“I thought you didn’t eat brown foods?” Niall questioned, causing Harry to shrug once again.

“Had a change of heart.”  He mumbled before to took a bite. Just then, the door opened and Dani stepped in. His mouth went dry and he realized that he didn’t like the bitter taste of the chocolate so he tossed the pastry away.

“Dani.” He mumbled and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

“You’re the guy that threw up on Niall’s shoes yesterday, right?” She asked, her voice nasal and bitter. Harry winced, but it wasn’t because he was embarrassed. He couldn’t help but feel as if he dodged a bullet with this one. Call him shallow, but if he were to spend his whole life with one person, he’d appreciate it if they didn’t sound like Kristin Chenoweth.

“Yeah, that’s me.” But no matter how much he’d want to deny it, he was drawn to her. He wanted to be near her, to protect her and to wipe her tears when she cried, and it kept tugging at his heart strings, no matter how much he said no. She was with Niall, they were each other’s soul mates, she never looked for anyone with green eyes, only blue, so she never looked for him. She wasn’t his, but he was hers.

“Are you okay?” She asked, concern filling her brown eyes and he swallowed down bile again. He nodded quickly, averting his eyes from hers.

“I’ve got to go wash the dishes.” He mumbled quickly before throwing himself over to the sinks.

Harry washed his hands and arms with scolding hot water before he felt he was able to face Niall again. He felt unwarranted amounts of anger towards the blonde boy. He was angry, and he was hurt, and it was all Niall’s fault, and all he had to do was grab a knife and slit his throat, then Dani would be his and he wouldn’t be in pain anymore. But he couldn’t because it really wasn’t Niall’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Harry was just unlucky. He was unlucky and an idiot for ever thinking he could be happy so he bowed out and watched the happy couple interact from the sidelines, because he rather not see his grey hair and hurt himself than see his grey hair and hurt others. He’d rather have Niall be happy and live the life that he could have lived than have Niall be as miserable as he was then. Niall was his friend and he’d do anything for his friends.

**

Harry watched the pair for two weeks before he decided it was enough. He didn’t want to suffer anymore, so he quit his job, telling Niall and his boss that he’s found another job. He didn’t have another job and he knew he wouldn’t be able to afford next month’s rent so he bough a large bottle of vodka and got drunk. He got so drunk that he didn’t think of Niall and Dani together anymore, and it didn’t matter if he could see brown because all the colours blurred together, leaving him a giggling mess on his red couch. But he laughed so much he felt tears, he knew they weren’t happy, but he let them fall as he continued to laugh, his heart aching more with each beat because _he was so alone._

When Harry woke up, his head spun and he had a splitting headache, but his apartment was dark.

“You quit your fucking job.” The loud voice caused him to groan and roll over to his side, clutching his ears as if they were about to bleed.

“Please do not shout,” he whispered, sniffling. “I’m small and drunk and didn’t do anything.” He felt like a child. He was a child.

“You’re not small, Harry, you’re a fucking adult. A jobless adult may I add.” Louis scolded him and he felt a pair of arms grab him and harshly roll him off the couch. He let out a yelp as he met the cold harsh ground and when he opened his eyes, he was met with the scolding glares of Louis and Liam.

“Fuck off, I’m tired.” Harry whispered before closing his eyes, ready to sleep the day away.

“Get the fuck up Harry and find a job.” Liam growled as he pulled Harry up. He quickly handed the long limbed man a cup full of red liquid and topped of with a stick of celery. Knowing he couldn’t win an argument, Harry pulled a face and quickly downed the drink, trying to ignore the way it tasted. Once done, Liam pulled him up and proceeded to drag him into the room.

“You’re going to find another job.” He stated firmly.

“I’m going to find another job?” Harry repeated, his brain not understanding why.

“You’re going to find another job.” Louis confirmed as he handed him a glass of water and a panadol. Harry quickly downed both.

“Drink water regularly.” Louis reminded him before disappearing into Harry’s bathroom.

“Why?” Harry asked, still confused.

“Because you don’t have a job and you have to pay rent.” Liam said as he threw clothes onto the bed. “There’s a job opening at the flower shop, the one you always found cute, you can try there.”

“So... I don’t have to find a job, as you’ve already found one…” Harry trailed off and Liam sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Technically yes, but it’s not yours yet. If you don’t get it, you’re on your own.” He said before pushing Harry towards the clothes and walking out of the room.

An hour later, Harry was walking into the flower store, ready to charm the lady into giving him the job. On the out side, he looked fresh and ready to start working immediately, but on the inside, he was still a bit hung over and he was still hurting and he wanted to cry and he also felt like throwing up but he could keep the performance up until he left the store with the job. He wouldn’t leave without it.

“Good morning, ma’am. I’m here for the job opening.” He said, flashing her his charming smile.

“Oh! Well, you’ve got the job!” She said cheerfully and he froze, his face going slack.

“Wait what? Seriously? It’s that easy? Aren’t you going to ask me questions, ask for my resumé?” He questioned, feeling as if it was too easy. She laughed and shook her head.

“Well, normally I would, but you’re the first person to apply since we put up the notice, and it’s been a month, so what the hell!” She said and he grinned.

“Alright, well I won’t complain!” He said, causing them both to laugh.

“You can start tomorrow, as today seems like a slow day and I probably won’t need you anymore. Let me just get your name and your contract and you’ll be free to go.” She said before disappearing into the back, leaving Harry stranded on an island, surrounded by a sea of beautiful flowers.

“I got the job!” Harry cheered to his friends as he walked out of the store twenty minutes later.

“Seriously?” Liam grinned, feeling happy for his best friend. It was one good thing that’s happened to the poor boy over the past few months.

“Yup, I start tomorrow, full time! The pay’s great too!”

“How much?” Louis asked, taking a drag of his cigarette. He didn’t really care, but this made Harry happy, so he asked.

“$11 an hour.” Harry grinned and Louis dropped his cigarette.

“$11 an hour, full time? At a fucking flower shop?” Louis’ jaw was hitting the pavement.

“You’d be surprised how much a bouquet of flowers costs. They’re very expensive.” Harry stated. To be honest, he was surprised that it was $11 an hour and no one came to claim the job, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Well, lets not stand here, boys. Let’s go celebrate!” Liam yelled but Harry cringed.

“I can’t I’m still hung over and I start work tomorrow. I can’t afford to come in hung over on the first day. Plus, it’s noon , Liam, have some decency and wait at least until four pm.” Harry scolded and Liam rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, at least lets go have some wine or shit.” Louis suggested and Harry shook his head.

“I really can’t. That’s for the thought but I really can’t. So if you don’t mind, I think I have to go look for a roommate and clean my place.” Harry said before walking away from his friends with a wave.

**

Harry stopped dead in his tracks when he got to his apartment door.

“Lucy?” He whispered as he watched her small frame stand with her back to him, her luggage messily thrown on the floor.

“Lucy, are you okay?” He said cautiously as he slowly approached the shaking girl. As he got closer to her, he could see the faint bruises paining her fair skin, the purple creating a heavy contrast with the ivory.

“Lucy are you okay?” He repeated his question, this time louder than before. He was within centimeters from her now, and he gently reached out to touch her, but she recoiled away from his touch, still not turning to face him.

“Hey, it’s alright, I won’t hurt you.” He whispered as he touched her again. This time, she didn’t flinch, but his touch left goose bumps on her skin.

“Lucy, please look at me.” He whispered and slowly, the tiny girl turned to look at him and the sigh of her made his stomach tighten.

“Who did this Lucy?” He asked as he looked at her swollen eye and cut lip. “Who?” He asked again, his voice cracking.

“He… he did it… He was supposed to be my soul mate… he _is_ my soul mate… but he’s a monster…” She whimpered before collapsing into his arms. Her small arms snaked around his waist as she buried her face in his chest. He quickly hugged her back, whispering to her how it will be all right.

“Lets get you to bed, alright? You need to rest.” He said before opening the door and letting her in. He took her stuff in before shutting the door behind him, locking it three times, just in case.

“Go take a shower, Lucy, and then we’ll ice your eye, alright?” She nodded stiffly before disappearing into the bathroom. Harry tidied up the small living space while he waited for her to shower and once she emerged from the bathroom, he handed her the ice and made them both herbal tea and grabbed a two pint buckets of ice cream from the fridge. When he sat down next to her, her first set the teacups down before retrieving the ice cream that was tucked into his arm pits, the skin already feeling too cold.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She said, her brown eyes soft but scared. He smiled softly at the warm brown tone of her eyes that he had the pleasure of seeing for the first time. He planned to cry a bit once he got home but for the sake of Lucy, he would keep it together until she could stand on her own two feet again.

“Alright, you don’t have to talk. But I will.” So he proceeded to fill her in about what happened while she was away, her eyes growing wider with every word he told, and Harry had to constantly remind her to keep the ice on her eye or else it won’t help.

“Wait, so, you’ve met your soul mate. But she already had a soul mate.” Lucy echoed Liam’s and Louis’ words and Harry nodded tiredly, rubbing his face.

“Yup.” He whispered as he started at his untouched cup of herbal tea, not really wanting to look at Lucy. The thing was that Harry didn’t want anyone’s pity, he really didn’t, he didn’t want to have others hurt for him, but he was just so terrible at keeping his mouth shut when it came to his feelings. He was working on that.

“Shit Harry, what are you going to do?” Harry shrugged, because he really didn’t know. He was hoping if he ignored it, it would just go away.

“What are you going to do, Lucy?” He countered, looking up at her worried face. He couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous she looked with a spoon full of ice cream shoved in her mouth and an ice pack pressed to her eye.

“We’ll power through it. Together.” She concluded, raising her bucket of ice cream. He smiled weakly and rose his own, gently bumping the two containers together.

“Together.”

And that’s what they did, they powered through it together, keeping each other as distracted as possible. They didn’t talk about Harry’s feelings or Lucy’s bruises anymore, because they didn’t feel the need to address something that wasn’t permanent, because the feelings went away and so did the bruises. With Lucy around, Harry wasn’t as lonely anymore, because they both understood. They both understood what it was like to have your soul mate ripped away from you tragically, and then live to have the colour from your world fade away slowly. Harry didn’t see Dani anymore, and Lucy didn’t see Terrance anymore, and day-by-day, they forgot what brown and blue looks like.

“Harry, what does the sky look like today?” Lucy mumbled one day. She was laying down on the couch with her head in his lap, so he couldn’t exactly get up to see the sky, but he strained his neck, taking in the dull blue sky.

“It’s like, a grey-ish blue. Very ugly.” She nodded happily and went back to scrolling through her phone. Before that day they could still see some of the colour, but every day, it was washed away more, until it was gone completely.

“Do I have grey hair?” He asked quietly. He didn’t really want to know, nor did he care, but it felt right to ask. She needed him, and he needed her, it was a team effort. Lucy sat up and quickly grabbed his hair, pulling his head down roughly before combing through his hair.

“Oi, I still have feelings you know.” He complained but instead of responding, she just slapped his head.

“Shush, the master is _working._ ” She informed him and he rolled his eyes.

“It’s funny that the only thing you’re good at is combing through people’s hair, like a  monkey.” He chucked and she hit him again, but harder.

“You’re the fucking monkey here, you eat bananas like they make your life longer and you’re super flexible it’s weird.” She muttered in response before releasing his head. He rubbed his neck, already feeling sore.

“You’re good. No grey hair.”

**

Harry couldn’t complain. Even though his job didn’t make him millions, the income was steady and he had hot water and food and like was okay. He didn’t complain that he hated trees and his best friend’s eyes and gravy and chocolate because if he was being honest, he came to accept the fact. He accepted the feeling of jealous when Louis and Liam flirted on the group chats or when they ate brown foods because he came to terms with it, he had to if he wanted to live a happy life.

“If I’m being honest I think we should sort the flowers by colour.” Harry told Gladys, his boss.

“Really? Do you think so?”

“Oh yes. I think the customers will appreciate the tidiness of the place. Plus it’ll make life so much easier if they want to shop by colour, and not by the type of flower.” In the short time that he worked in the flower shop, Harry has learnt that most people really do shop by colour, because rarely anyone knows the types of flowers except roses and lilies.

“Alright, then you have your work cut out for you.” Gladys said before she went back into her office. Harry nodded to himself before deciding to start with the red flowers, organizing them from the right to the left.

Once done, Harry stood back to admire his work, which only took him about three hours, only to realize he’s subconsciously arranged them to look like the gay pride flag. Oh well, he didn’t want homophobes to shop at the store anyway.

“Hi, are you still open?” He heard a voice say and he glanced at the clock. It was only four pm.

“Yeah of course! How can I help?” And with that, Harry turned around to face the voice, only to be met with a face sculpted by the gods, with the most perfect brown eyes Harry had ever seen. Harry immediately lost his senses and drowned in the hazel brown oceans, slowly forgetting how to breathe. His skin was set on fire and his face was burning up, and his body didn’t know how to react, so it just started sweating profusely. An unknown emotion coursed through his veins, and it sang his cells to life, waking them up and making him feel so alive yet also as if he was being buried alive, his lungs short of breath. His tongue suddenly felt swollen and he knew that if he opened his mouth to speak, he’d either throw up of say something really embarrassing.  The boy was so beautiful that Harry simply forgot to exist.

“Yes, I would, um, I’d obviously would like to buy some flowers, but I don’t know which flowers would be appropriate for the occasion.” The god explained, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Harry just continued to stare at him, not offering to help him.

“Oh I’m sorry, do you not work here? Shit, sorry, I just assumed you work here, since you’re the only one here… do you know where the employees are?” Harry felt like an idiot for staring but he didn’t know how to reply. He knew what to say, but he _forgot how to speak._

“Are you okay? Do you speak English?” The boy looked uncomfortable now with Harry staring at him but _he didn’t know how to stop._

“I’ll just leave.” And with that he turned and left the shop, leaving Harry standing alone, staring at nothing.

“What the fuck.” He failed to realize he could see brown again.

**

“Harry, you did what?” Liam asked slowly. Louis was sat beside him, his face red with anger because _oh my god Harry was such an idiot._

“That’s the thing, I _didn’t do anything._ I just stared at him like a god damn fool without saying anything!” Harry smacked his forehead, the embarrassment was too much for him and he wished his bed would just swallow him whole.

“Oh my god Harry _why would you do that?”_ Lucy yelled from his desk before hurling a notebook at him. He didn’t bother dodging because he god damn deserved it.

“I PANICKED!” He cried before burying his face in a pillow. God, why was he so awkward around attractive people.

“I’m going to fucking murder you!” Louis screamed before lunging at him. His body smacked into Harry’s, knocking the breath out of both boys, and Harry started gasping for air while Louis pinned him down of the bed.

“Do you even realize what you fucking did Harry? DO YOU?” Louis screamed and Harry couldn’t place the emotion that was in Louis’ eyes. It wasn’t exactly anger.

“Why are you so angry?” Harry screamed back, just as loud as Louis. If he was going to scream, then Harry would as well.

“Because! You’re an idiot , Harry, that’s why! You met your _second_ soul mate, and you fucking _let. Him. Go_! You let go of you second chance at happiness Harry! Why don’t you let yourself just be happy for once?” Louis started out with screaming but in the end his voice was cracking, his voice just above a whisper. He was also crying, his eyes blurry with tears and his eyebrows pulled together in frustration.

“Why don’t you want to be happy?” He sounded desperate and it broke Harry’s heart. He quickly sat up on and pulled Louis into a bone crushing hug, his heart swelling at the though of how much Louis cared about him.

“I’m sorry, I panicked, I didn’t mean to.” Harry whispered into Louis’ hair. “I know I keep fucking up, but I can’t help it. I really can’t.” He admitted and now he was crying. The two boys sat embracing each other while the two other friends watched with small smiles.

“Well, we will have to wait a see if he comes back.” Liam said quietly and Lucy laughed.

“Who knows, maybe he likes being stared at.” The girl added with a toothy smile.

The four friends ended up staying up all night watching cheesy romantic comedies and by the morning, Harry’s stomach was tight with anxiety because he really didn’t want to face that beautiful boy while he was sleep deprived.

“Maybe I should just call in sick.” Harry mumbled, earning a smack on the head from Liam.

“No you should not. What if he comes back today, and you’re not there, and he buys his flowers and you guys never see each other again?” Lucy reasoned and Harry rolled his eyes.

“He’s buying  _flowers_ Lucy, that must mean he has a lover or something.” Harry argued and the group fell into silence. He had a point.

“Or he’s buying them for his mother.”

“It’s not mothers day.”

“Whatever, just go in there, and see what happens. But, for gods sake Harry, don’t choke again. Or throw up.” Louis begged and Harry smiled, downing the rest of his coffee before grabbing his keys.

“Fine, fine. I promise I won’t throw up on him and I promise to verbally communicate with him.”  And with that, Harry made his way out of the apartment complex and to the flower shop.

To his utter surprise, there was a certain brown-eyed boy waiting for him in front of the flower shop.

“Have you been waiting long?” Harry called as he approached the store, causing the boy to look up at him. Harry’s heart skipped a beat when the boy smiled, crinkling the skin around his eyes. His smile could literally light up New York City after dark, without a doubt.

“Nope, only an hour or so.” The boy answered as Harry fished for the keys from his pocket. The boy was standing so close Harry could feel his breath hitting the side of his face. It smelled like cigarettes and spearmint gum.

“Here you go.” Harry opened to door for him and let the godly-creation step into the store first. Harry smiled contently when the wonderful smell of flowers hit him. It smelled almost as good as how the boy looked.

“Sorry about yesterday, I don’t know what came over me.” Harry lied, but applauded himself at how calm and collected he sounded. The boy laughed and Harry had to stop and look up, making sure the heavens haven’t opened and that the angels started singing, because that’s literally what it sounded like to him.

“It’s quite alright, don’t worry about it.” Harry stole a peek at the boy, admiring his stubble and plush lips, before trailing his eyes up to realize that he was watching him.

“I’m Zayn.” He introduced himself and Harry cleared his throat.

“Harry.” They shook hands and Harry admired his ripped jeans and leather jacked, feeling especially uncool in his skinny jeans and oversized sweater. He _especially_ felt uncool with the American flag bandana in his hair.

“I love your bandana.” Zayn admitted, taking Harry off guard.

“Seriously? I thought it was kinda lame.” Harry said sheepishly, hating the burning sensation in his cheeks.

“Nah, it’s really nice. I really like it.” Harry squirmed under Zayn’s intense look, suddenly uncomfortable with all the attention given to him.

“So, um, how can I help you?” He waved around the store, trying to bring the attention away from him.

“I’d like a bouquet of flowers please.” Zayn did not stop staring at him. Was this because Harry kept staring at him yesterday? Harry uncomfortably cleared his throat and stepped from behind the counter, walking towards the flowers, Zayn’s gaze burning a hole on the side of his face.

“What kind of flowers?” He asked quietly, feeling like a mouse in the gaze of a hungry cat.

“Your favourite.” Zayn answered simply and Harry froze, feeling like Zayn punched him in the stomach, knocking all the air out of him.

“Excuse me?” Harry breathed, looking straight into Zayn’s hazel eyes.

“I’m not good with flowers, so just pick your favourite flowers, I’m sure they’ll be perfect.” He did not break eye contact with Harry and the curly haired boy nodded his head slowly.

“Well, it depends. What’s the occasion?” Harry’s voice could barely be heard over his loud breathing.

“Just something casual.” With that, Harry quickly turned around and got to work, wanting to show off his skills. He didn’t know why he needed to impress Zayn but he just felt it was important to show Zayn how quickly he can put together a bouquet.

“And what is this flower called?” Zayn pointed to the yellow ball in the bouquet.

“Oh, um, that’s a craspedia. Isn’t it really pretty?” Harry quickly put together a medium sized bouquet of yellow daffodils, craspedias, tall grass and some Japanese anemone. Zayn looked at the bouquet in wonder, admiring Harry’s handy work. Harry admired Zayn as he admired Harry’s work.

“This is such a work of art.” _Just like you_ , Harry wanted today, but bit his tongue and just smiled in response.

“How much?” He reached into his back pocket to take out his wallet and Harry looked down at his tattooed arms, admiring the ink. He was literally a walking masterpiece.

“Oh, um, $17.” Harry whispered, his throat tightening as Zayn nodded, taking out the cash. Harry couldn’t help but notice how thick his wallet is. Harry quickly averted his eyes, but not away from Zayn because he’d hate himself for losing an opportunity to marvel at Zayn’s beauty, so he decided to admire how long his lashes were, perfectly framing his chocolate brown eyes.

“Here you go.” He winked as he passed Harry the money, causing his knees to turn into jelly. With a shaky hand, the lanky mortal took the money from the god, and watched with a heavy heart as the dark figure walked out of the store.

**

“Oh my god Lucy, I’m in love.” Harry whispered into his phone as he took a long whiff of a red rose. He was on his break now and he collapsed behind the counter, stealing a red rose and dialing his best friend.

“Did he come in today?” She asked before taking a loud bite from a carrot.

“Oh my god, he _waited for me_ in the morning. He literally stood outside the store until I came.” Harry gushed, not caring if he sounded like a teenage girl. “And his eyes, oh my god, Lucy, _his eyes!_ ” Lucy laughed from the other end of the line.

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy Harry.” She admitted and Harry paused.

“Well, I dunno if I’m happy… I’m just… _in love._ That doesn’t mean I’m happy.” He said quietly and Lucy stayed silent.

“You’ll get there, my love. I promise.” She whispered seriously and Harry smiled sadly, thanking her. They talked until his break was done and he had to get back to work. The rest of the day was surprisingly busy, so Harry had a distraction from the  golden-eyed god.

It went on like this for exactly two weeks, where Zayn would wait for Harry to open the shop, and then order a bouquet of flowers, except every day he would ask for a different colour of flowers. Zayn once ran out of colours, and Harry suggested the green, because Zayn never asked for green, but the brown-eyed boy panicked and asked for yellow, starting the cycle again. Harry never asked Zayn who the flowers were for, but whoever was getting them was a lucky person to have Zayn’s heart belong to them.

“Good morning, Zayn.” Harry called as he crossed the street to the shop, smiling at the boy. Zayn returned the smile and Harry melted at the way he pushed his tongue against his teeth when he smiled. It was so adorable.

“Good morning, Harold.” Zayn muttered as Harry let him in first. Harry rolled his eyes at the use of his full name but didn’t bother correcting him, as Zayn did it everyday.

“So I’m guessing it’s yellow flowers today?” Harry asked, looking at the flowers.

“Actually, I’d like green please.” His voice was small, but very close to Harry. Taken aback, Harry turned around to be met with Zayn’s brown eyes, staring at him inches away from his own.

“W-why green?” Harry breathed out, very aware of how close their mouth were, even though Harry was much taller than Zayn.

“Because exactly two weeks ago, you were the reason I saw green for the very first time in my life.” Zayn admitted breathlessly and Harry’s world stopped. His breath hitched and his brain reeled, trying to make sense of what Zayn just said.

“And you were the reason I saw brown.” Harry admitted and Zayn smiled.

“But I don’t understand.” Harry watched as Zayn’s soft expression fell into one that’s confused, but also a bit alarmed.

“Has anyone explained the soul mate concept to you?” Zayn looked legitimately worried, as if he thought Harry didn’t know about this. He looked like a parent who was about to give their kid a talk about the birds and the bees.

“No, no. I do. But you came here to buy flowers every day, I thought you already had a soul mate. Plus your reaction to seeing me was so calm and collected.” Harry admitted and frowned, knitting his brows and jutting his bottom lip out in a pout. Zayn laughed and without thinking about it, he ran his thumb along Harry’s bottom lip.

“I was actually freaking out, if I’m being completely honest. When I saw your eyes, they were like the rarest emerald anyone could ever find, and I honestly felt like throwing up. You were the gem I’ve been looking for, and then you froze as well, I had to bail. I don’t know why. But then I kept buy flowers because I needed to see you again. I needed an excuse to see you again. And trust me when I say this, not only did you finally make me appreciate nature for the first time in my life, your flowers literally made my house and my life that much beautiful.” Harry watched Zayn’s lip while he talked, watching as they hugged each letter before releasing it, smiling lightly in admiration.

“I’ve never appreciated nature before seeing you as well.” It was true, it really was. Meeting Dani threw him into such a shock that for as long as he could see brown, he refused to look at anything that colour. “Grey trees are really fucking ugly if I’m honest.” And then he kissed him. He grabbed Zayn’s jaw and kissed him like his life depended on it. But there were no fireworks and there were no sparks. There were earthquakes and thunderstorms and lightning, their lips dancing together around the rubble that their earthquakes have caused. Zayn clung onto Harry, their chests pressing so hard against each other that Harry swore he could feel Zayn’s heart beat synchronizing with his own.

“I need to go to work.” Zayn mumbled into the kiss and Harry shook his head.

“No you don’t.” He tried to deepen the kiss but Zayn gently started to pull away.

“I’ll pick you up after work okay?” He quickly pecked Harry’s lips before disentangling their bodies and sliding out the door with one last look at his soul mate.

**

“Wait, you’re doing _what_?” Harry cried from the couch. If it weren’t for Zayn’s fingers being entangled with his own, he would have jumped his two friends right then and there until they answered his questions.

“We’re getting married!” Louis cried for the third time that evening, flashing his fancy engagement ring.

“What the fuck, why weren’t we there to witness it?” Harry was truly offended. He was the one who introduced them; he was their best friend. “I am the reason you guys know each other! What the fuck!” Zayn squeezed his hand as if to try and calm him down, but it wasn’t working. This was unreasonable of them. “I am basically the father of your relationship. Why didn’t you ask me for my son’s hand in marriage Liam?” He scolded the tall boy who just rolled his eyes.

“Look, you can be my best man if that makes you feel better.” Liam reasoned with the angry child.

“The fuck I will be. I will also be Louis’ best man, and I’ll walk one of you down the isle. I’ll also be your ring barer and I will also be all your groomsmen!” Harry shouted, trying to get up to scream more at them but Zayn held him down.

“Babe, calm down, okay? Just take a deep breath okay.” He whispered as he wrested with Harry to have him look at his boyfriend. Once he did, his expression immediately softened, but the fire in his eyes did not die down.

“I am the father of their relationship.” He pouted, causing Zayn to chucked and kiss his anger away.

“Look, we’re sorry you weren’t there Harry, but it was just the two of us, and no offence, you’d probably trip and set the whole place on fire and you’re probably kind of ruin it.” Louis admitted and Harry tried going for his throat but was held back by Zayn.

“Okay, Louis, you’re really not helping.” Zayn huffed as he struggled to keep Harry back.

“Look Harry, we really appreciate your… effort… in this relationship, but I felt like it was right to do it secretly and privately. Can you please understand this? For me? For Lilo?” Liam begged, flashing harry his puppy dog eyes and everyone knew Harry couldn’t say no to that.

“Fine, but I _will_ be your groomsman.” He growled before standing up and stomping out of the room with Zayn in tow. If he was being honest, he didn't care  _what_ he was, as long as Zayn could be his date. 


End file.
